Theaters of the (Occasionally) Absurd

While the essential movie-going experience—sitting in a darkened theater watching images dance across the screen—has remained blessedly unchanged, Hollywood has given us a number of technologies meant to enhance or improve our appreciation of a film.

Even at the turn of the last century, filmmakers and exhibitors were pushing the medium forward: the addition of sound and color each completely transformed film (as both medium and product). But there were plenty of other innovations that were introduced to audiences. Some were outlandish and gimmicky, but more than a few were truly influential.

We’ve put together a list of 10 such technologies, and we’ll begin with a hugely significant invention that came from the minds of two legendary figures…